Mobile terminal and method of transferring or receiving data using the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal including an input unit; a communication unit; a location information unit configured to obtain location information related to the mobile terminal; and a controller configured to: receive a message and a recipient through the input unit, determine a location information transfer mode set for the recipient, receive a message transfer command through the input unit, transfer the message with the location information to the recipient through the communication unit in response to the message transfer command, when the location information transfer mode is a first transfer mode, and transfer the message without the location information to the recipient through the communication unit in response to the message transfer command, when the location information transfer mode set to the recipient is a second transfer mode.

This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.13/874,075 filed Apr. 30, 2013, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/407,387 filed Feb. 28, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No.8,457,658 issued on Jun. 4, 2013, which is a divisional of applicationSer. No. 12/539,220 filed Aug. 11, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,155,667-B2issued on Apr. 10, 2012, which claims priority to Application No.10-2008-0127617 filed in the Republic of Korea on Dec. 16, 2008, toApplication No. 10-2008-0127618 filed in the Republic of Korea on Dec.16, 2008, to Application No. 10-2008-0128717 filed in the Republic ofKorea on Dec. 17, 2008 and to Application No. 10-2009-0061707 filed inthe Republic of Korea on Jul. 7, 2009. The entire contents of all of theabove applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and, moreparticularly, to a mobile terminal which transfers or receives data,including location information, in various ways, and a method oftransferring or receiving data using the same.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

As the functionality of terminals, such as personal computers, notebookcomputers, and mobile phones, is diversified, the terminals are beingimplemented in the form of multimedia players equipped with complexfunctions, such as capturing images and video, playing music or videofiles, game, and reception of broadcast.

Terminals can be divided into mobile terminals and stationary terminalsaccording to whether they are movable. Mobile terminals can also bedivided into handheld terminals and vehicle mount terminals according towhether they can be directly carried on by a user.

In order to support and increase the functionality of the terminals, theimprovement of structural or software portions or both of the terminalsmay be taken into consideration.

In recent years, a variety of terminals, including mobile terminals,provide complex and various functionalities, but do not provide variousfunctions related to location information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal,which is capable of transferring or receiving data, including locationinformation, in various ways and using them in various ways, and amethod of transferring or receiving data using the same.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a terminal andmethod for providing and managing location information, which addressthe limitations and disadvantages associated with the related art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal, including a communication unit, an input unit, alocation information unit managing at least one location information,and a controller receiving a message and a receiver through the inputunit, selecting location information to be transferred with the messageby controlling the location information unit, and transferring themessage and a file including the selected location information as a filemanageable separately from the message to the receiver through thecommunication unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal, including a communication unit, an input unit, alocation information unit for obtaining location information, and acontroller receiving a message and a receiver through the input unit,obtaining location information about a current location by controllingthe location information unit, and transferring the location informationtogether with the message selectively to the receiver according to thereceiver through the communication unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal, including a communication unit, an input unit, alocation information unit for obtaining location information, and acontroller receiving a message and a receiver through the input unit,obtaining location information about a current location by controllingthe location information unit, changing a representation format of theobtained location information to reduce data size of the obtainedlocation information according to a predefined method, and transferringthe message and the changed location information to the receiver throughthe communication unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal, including a communication unit, memory storing atleast one application, and a controller, if a message and locationinformation are received through the communication unit, storing thelocation information in the memory automatically or according to a firstcommand of a user.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for transferring data of a mobile terminal, including receivinga message and a receiver, selecting location information, andtransferring a file including the selected location information to thereceiver, the file being manageable separately from the message.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for transferring data of a mobile terminal, including receivinga message and a receiver, and transferring the message to the receiverbut selectively transferring location information about a currentlocation of the mobile terminal together with the message according tothe receiver.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for transferring data of a mobile terminal, includingreceiving a message and a receiver, obtaining location information abouta current location of the mobile terminal, changing a representationformat of the obtained location information to reduce data size of theobtained location information according to a predefined method, andtransferring the message and the changed location information to thereceiver.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for receiving data of a mobile terminal, includingreceiving a message and location information, and storing the locationinformation automatically or according to a first command of a user.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal, including memory storing at least one data includinglocation information, a local area communication module forcommunicating with an external electronic device by using short rangecommunication, and an external first electronic device located withincommunication range of the short range communication being selected, acontroller transferring a first data including location informationrather than a current location of a mobile terminal from among the atleast one data through the selected first electronic device through thelocal area communication module.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for transferring data of a mobile terminal, including selectingan external electronic device located within communication range ofshort range communication, and transferring data including locationinformation rather than a current location of the mobile terminal to theselected electronic device by using the short range communication.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for transferring data of a mobile terminal, includingreceiving data including location information rather than a currentlocation of the mobile terminal from an external first electronicdevice, selecting an external second electronic device withincommunication range of short range communication, and transferring thereceived data or the location information to the second electronicdevice through short range communication.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal for processing a message, comprising: a communicationunit; a location information unit configured to manage at least onelocation information; and a controller configured to obtain locationinformation selected among the at least one location information and totransfer together a first file including the message and a second fileincluding the selected location information through the communicationunit, the first file being different from the second file.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal comprising: a communication unit; a locationinformation unit configured to obtain current location informationassociated with the mobile terminal; and a controller configured toobtain a receiver's information for a message, to determine whether ornot to transfer the current location information based on the receiver'sinformation, and to selectively transfer the current locationinformation together with the message through the communication unitbased on the determination result.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal for processing a message, the mobile terminalcomprising: a communication unit; a location information unit configuredto obtaining current location information associated with the mobileterminal, the obtained current location information having a first datasize; and a controller configured to reduce the first data size of theobtained current location information to have a second data size, and totransfer the message and the current location information having thesecond data size through the communication unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal comprising: a communication unit configured to receiveat least one of a message and at least one location information; alocation information storage unit; and a controller configured toautomatically store the location information received from thecommunication unit into the location information storage unit fororganizing the location information, if the communication unit receivesthe message with the location information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal comprising: a local area communication moduleconfigured to communicate with an external electronic device by using alocal area communication; and a controller configured to transferlocation information excluding current location information of themobile terminal, to the external electronic device through the localarea communication, wherein the location information is particularlocation information selected among a plurality of different locationinformation, and/or the external electronic device is an externalelectronic device selected among a plurality of different externalelectronic devices.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal comprising: a radio communication unit; a locationinformation unit configured to obtain current location information ofthe mobile terminal; a storage unit configured to store other locationinformation; and a controller configured to transfer locationinformation selected among the current location information and theother location information to at least one external device through theradio communication unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile terminal related to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates a frontal perspective view of a mobile terminalrelated to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of a mobile terminal related to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front views of a mobile terminal for describing oneoperating status of a mobile terminal related to the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a conceptual drawing for describing a proximity rangeof a proximity sensor;

FIG. 5A illustrates a block diagram of CDMA wireless communicationsystem communicating with the mobile terminal illustrated in FIG. 1:

FIG. 5B illustrates an example of a wireless LAN system communicatingwith the mobile terminal illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5C illustrates one example of a short range communicationenvironment of a mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transferring messagesof a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a message writing screen where amessage and a receiver have been input according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a screen displaying a first userselection UI 20 according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of V-Card file according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transferring messagesof a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a screen registering an entity in aphonebook according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a screen displaying a first userinquiry UI 35 according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transferring messagesof a mobile terminal according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of a latitude/longitude range of SouthKorea (Republic of Korea) according to the present invention;

FIG. 14B illustrates an example of a latitude/longitude range of Seoulaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a latitude/longitude referencelocation set for South Korea according to the present invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for receiving messages ofa mobile terminal according to a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a received message according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a screen displaying a second userinquiry UI 40 according to the present invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a screen displaying a second userinquiry U 50 according to the present invention:

FIG. 20 illustrates an example where received location information isdisplayed on a map according to the present invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transferring data ofa mobile terminal according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22 illustrates a detailed flow diagram of S510 step of FIG. 21according to the present invention;

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a situation where an externalelectronic device among multiple external electronic devices locatedwithin a communication range of short range communication is selectedaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example where a location information database isprovided through a GUI according to the present invention;

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a screen where a search tool to searchfor location information is provided according to the present invention;

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of a screen where a list of contentsincluding location information is provided;

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing locationinformation of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIGS. 28 to 32 are diagrams showing examples of a screen where themethod of providing location information of a mobile terminal isimplemented according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal 100 according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown, the mobile terminal 100includes a radio communication unit 110, an audio/video (A/V) input unit120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, amemory 160, an interface 170, a controller 180, and a power supply 190.All components of the mobile terminal 100 are operatively coupled andconfigured.

In addition, the radio communication unit 110 includes at least onemodule that enables radio communication between the mobile terminal 100and a radio communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 anda network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, theradio communication unit 110 includes a broadcasting receiving module(or broadcast receiver module) 111, a mobile communication module 112, awireless Internet module 113, a local area communication module 114 anda position information module 115.

The broadcasting receiving module 111 receives broadcasting signalsand/or broadcasting related information from an external broadcastingmanagement server or other suitable device through a broadcastingchannel. Also, the broadcasting channel can include a satellite channeland a terrestrial channel, and the broadcasting management server can bea server that generates and transmits broadcasting signals and/orbroadcasting related information or a server that receives previouslycreated broadcasting signals and/or broadcasting related information andtransmits the broadcasting signals and/or broadcasting relatedinformation to a terminal.

Further, the broadcasting signals can include not only TV broadcastingsignals, radio broadcasting signals and data broadcasting signals, butalso signals in the form of combination of a TV broadcasting signal anda radio broadcasting signal. In addition, the broadcasting relatedinformation can be information on a broadcasting channel, a broadcastingprogram or a broadcasting service provider, and can be provided eventhrough a mobile communication network. In the latter case, thebroadcasting related information can be received by the mobilecommunication module 112.

Also, the broadcasting related information can exist in various forms.For example, the broadcasting related information can exist in the formof an electronic program guide (EPG) of the digital multimediabroadcasting (DMB) system or in the form of an electronic service guide(ESG) of the digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H) system.

In addition, the broadcasting receiving module 111 receives broadcastingsignals using various broadcasting systems. Particularly, thebroadcasting receiving module 111 can receive digital broadcastingsignals using digital broadcasting systems such as the digitalmultimedia broadcasting-terrestrial (DMB-T) system, the digitalmultimedia broadcasting-satellite (DMB-S) system, the media forward linkonly (MediaFLO) system, the DVB-H and integrated services digitalbroadcast-terrestrial (ISDB-T) systems, etc. The broadcasting receivingmodule 111 can also be constructed to be suited to broadcasting systemsproviding broadcasting signals other than the above-described digitalbroadcasting systems.

Further, the broadcasting signals and/or broadcasting relatedinformation received through the broadcasting receiving module 111 canbe stored in the memory 160. The mobile communication module 112transmits/receives a radio signal to/from at least one of a basestation, an external terminal and a server on a mobile communicationnetwork. The radio signal can include a voice call signal, a videotelephony call signal or data in various firms according to transmissionand reception of text/multimedia messages.

In addition, the wireless Internet module 113 corresponds to a modulefor wireless Internet access and can be included in the mobile terminal100 or externally attached to the mobile terminal 100. A wireless LAN(WLAN) (Wi-Fi), wireless broadband (Wibro), world interoperability formicrowave access (Wimax), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) andso on can be used as a wireless Internet technique.

Also, the local area communication module 114 corresponds to a modulefor local area communication. The local area communication includes ashort range communication. For example, Bluetooth, radio frequencyidentification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), ultra wideband(UWB) and ZigBee can be used as a local area communication technique,which can be performed by the local area communication module 114.

The position information module 115 is used for identifying and/orobtaining the location of a mobile device. The position informationmodule 115 can obtain location information through Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS), cell identification (cell-ID), or wirelessLAN-based location sensing. In what follows, each method by which theposition information module 115 acquires location information isdescribed.

First, the position information module 115 can acquire locationinformation through GNSS. GNSS is a generic term for satellitenavigation systems that provide reference signals by which particulartypes of radio navigation receivers can determine their positions on ornear the earth's surface. The GNSS comprises the U.S. system GPS (GlobalPositioning System), the European system Galileo, the Russian systemGLONASS (Global Orbiting Navigational Satellite System), the Chinesesystem COMPASS, and the Japanese system QZSS (Quasi-Zenith SatelliteSystem).

In a typical example of GNSS, the position information module 115 can bea GPS module. The GPS module measures distances between a particularposition and more than three satellites, extracts information about thetime at which the distances are measured, and applies triangulation tothe measured distances, thereby obtaining three dimensional locationinformation expressed by latitude, longitude, and altitude. Anotherpopular GPS triangulation method utilizes three satellites to obtainposition and time information and incorporates signals from a fourthsatellite to compensate for error of the position and time information.The GPS module continuously calculates current position in real time andestimates velocity information based on the calculated position.

Second, the position information module 115 can acquire locationinformation through cell identification (cell ID) location technique.The cell ID location technique employs several radio base stations 200of a wireless communications system (for example, refer to FIG. 5A). Thewireless communications system refers to a mobile communications systembased on CDMA, GSM, or WCDMA. In the cell ID) location technique,position tracking is based on ID information (for example, base stationID) of more than one base station 200 that covers the current locationof the mobile terminal 100 and signal strength information received fromeach base station. The cell ID location technique may incorporate one ortwo base stations or triangulation based on three base stations for moreaccurate localization. In other words, according to the number of basestations available, a different localization algorithm can be appliedfor the cell ID location technique, achieving higher accuracy as thenumber of base stations increases.

Third, the position information module 115 can acquire locationinformation through a wireless LAN based location sensing technique.FIG. 5B illustrates an example of a wireless LAN system thatcommunicates with the mobile terminal illustrated in FIG. 1. A wirelessLAN system generally incorporates a number of access points (APs)corresponding to the terminal points of a backbone network. The wirelessLAN system can recognize the information about the position of eachaccess point. Also, the location information of each access point can bemanaged either by particular areas or by the respective access points.The mobile terminal 100 can carry out wireless communication with theaccess point through wireless LAN access. Therefore, the mobile terminal100, through wireless communication with the access point, can acquirethe information about the current location of the mobile terminal 100.

Referring to FIG. 1, the A/V input unit 120 is used to input an audiosignal or a video signal and includes a camera 121 and a microphone 122.The camera 121 processes image frames of still images or moving imagesobtained by an image sensor in a video telephony mode or a photographingmode. Further, the processed image frames can be displayed on a displayunit 151.

Also, the image frames processed by the camera 121 can be stored in thememory (or storage unit) 160 or transmitted to an external devicethrough the radio communication unit 110. The mobile terminal 100 canalso include at least two cameras. The microphone 122 receives anexternal audio signal in a call mode, a recording mode or a speedrecognition mode and processes the received audio signal into electricaudio data.

The audio data can then be converted into a form that can be transmittedto a mobile communication base station through the mobile communicationmodule 112 and output in the call mode. Further, the microphone 122 canemploy various noise removal algorithms for removing noise generatedwhen the external audio signal is received.

In addition, the user input unit 130 receives input data for controllingthe operation of the terminal from a user. The user input unit 130 caninclude a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad (constantvoltage/capacitance), jog wheel, jog switch and so on. The user may alsoinput commands and data via voice through the user input unit 130.

Also, the sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the mobileterminal 100, such as an open/close state of the mobile terminal 100,the position of the mobile terminal 100, whether a user touches themobile terminal 100, the direction of the mobile terminal 100 and theacceleration/deceleration of the mobile terminal 100, and generates asensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100.

For example, the sensing unit 140 can sense whether a slide phone isopened or closed when the mobile terminal 100 is the slide phone.Furthermore, the sensing unit 140 can sense whether the power supply 190supplies power and whether the interface 170 is connected to an externaldevice. The sensing unit 140 can also include a proximity sensor.

In addition, the output unit 150 generates visual, auditory or tactileoutput and can include the display unit 151, an audio output module 152,an alarm 153 and a haptic module 154. Further, the display unit 151displays information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example,the display unit 151 displays a user interface (UI) or graphic userinterface (GUI) related to a telephone call when the mobile terminal isin the call mode. The display unit 151 also displays a captured or/andreceived image, UI or GUI when the mobile terminal 100 is in the videotelephony mode or the photographing mode.

In addition, the display unit 151 can include at least one of a liquidcrystal display, a thin film transistor liquid crystal display, anorganic light-emitting diode display, a flexible display and athree-dimensional display. Further, some of these displays can be of atransparent type or a light transmission type. That is, the display unit151 can include a transparent display.

In more detail, the transparent display includes a transparent liquidcrystal display. Further, the rear structure of the display unit 151 canalso be of the light transmission type. Accordingly, a user can see anobject located behind the body of the mobile terminal 100 through thetransparent area of the body of the mobile terminal 100, which isoccupied by the display unit 151.

The mobile terminal 100 can also include at least two display units 151.For example, the mobile terminal 100 can include a plurality of displaysthat are arranged on a single face at a predetermined distance orintegrated displays. The plurality of displays can also be arranged ondifferent sides.

In addition, when the display unit 151 and a sensor sensing touch(referred to as a touch sensor hereinafter) form a layered structure,which is referred to as a touch screen hereinafter, the display unit 151can be used as an input device in addition to an output device. Thetouch sensor can be in the form of a touch film, a touch sheet and atouch pad, for example.

Further, the touch sensor can be constructed to convert a variation inpressure applied to a specific portion of the display unit 151 or avariation in capacitance generated at a specific portion of the displayunit 151 into an electric input signal. The touch sensor can also beconstructed to sense pressure of touch as well as the position and areaof the touch.

Also, when the user applies a touch input to the touch sensor, a signalcorresponding to the touch input is transmitted to a touch controller,which may be part of the controller 180 or the output unit 150. Thetouch controller then processes the signal and transmits datacorresponding to the processed signal to the controller 180.Accordingly, the controller 180 can detect a touched portion of thedisplay unit 151.

Referring to FIG. 1, the proximity sensor of the sensing unit 140 can belocated in an internal region of the mobile terminal, surrounded by thetouch screen, or near the touch screen. The proximity sensor senses anobject approaching a predetermined sensing face or an object locatednear the proximity sensor using an electromagnetic force or infraredrays without having mechanical contact. Further, the proximity sensorhas lifetime longer than that of a contact sensor and thus has a wideapplication in the mobile terminal 100.

In addition, the proximity sensor can include a transmission typephoto-electric sensor, a direct reflection type photo-electric sensor, amirror reflection type photo-electric sensor, a high-frequencyoscillating proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magneticproximity sensor, an infrared proximity sensor, etc. Further, acapacitive touch screen is constructed such that proximity of a pointeris detected through a variation in an electric field according to theproximity of the pointer. In this instance, the touch screen (touchsensor) can be classified as a proximity sensor.

For convenience of explanation, the action of the pointer approachingthe touch screen without actually touching the touch screen is referredto as “proximity touch” and an action of bringing the pointer intocontact with the touch screen is referred to as “contact touch” in thefollowing description. In addition, the proximity touch point of thepointer on the touch screen corresponds to a point of the touch screento which the pointer touches the touch screen.

Further, the proximity sensor senses the proximity touch and a proximitytouch pattern (for example, a proximity touch distance, a proximitytouch direction, a proximity touch velocity, a proximity touch time, aproximity touch position, a proximity touch moving state, etc.).Information corresponding to the sensed proximity touch action andproximity touch pattern can then be displayed on the touch screen.

Also, the audio output module 152 can output audio data received fromthe radio communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a callsignal receiving mode, a telephone call mode or a recording mode, aspeech recognition mode and a broadcasting receiving mode. Further, theaudio output module 152 outputs audio signals related to functions (forexample, a call signal incoming tone, a message incoming tone, etc.)performed in the mobile terminal 100. The audio output module 152 caninclude a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, etc.

In addition, the alarm 153 outputs a signal for indicating thegeneration of an event of the mobile terminal 100. For example, alarmscan be generated when receiving a call signal, receiving a message,inputting a key signal, inputting touch, etc. The alarm 153 can alsooutput signals in forms different from video signals or audio signals,for example, a signal for indicating generation of an event throughvibration. The video signals or the audio signals from the alarm 153 canbe also output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module152.

Also, the haptic module 154 generates various haptic effects that theuser can feel. One representative example of the haptic effects isvibration. The intensity and pattern of vibration generated by thehaptic module 154 can also be controlled. For example, differentvibrations can be combined and output or can be sequentially output.

Further, the haptic module 154 can generate a variety of haptic effectsincluding an effect of stimulus according to arrangement of pinsvertically moving against a contact skin surface, an effect of stimulusaccording to a jet force or sucking force of air through a jet hole or asucking hole, an effect of stimulus of rubbing the skin, an effect ofstimulus according to contact of an electrode, an effect of stimulususing an electrostatic force, and an effect according to a reproductionof cold and warmth using an element capable of absorbing or radiatingheat in addition to vibrations.

The haptic module 154 can also not only transmit haptic effects throughdirect contact but also allow the user to feel haptic effects through akinesthetic sense of the user's fingers or arms. The mobile terminal 100can also include multiple haptic modules 154.

In addition, the memory (or storage unit) 160 can store program(s) forthe operation of the controller 180 and temporarily store input/outputdata (for example, phone book, messages, still images, moving images,etc.). The memory 160 can also store data about vibrations and sounds invarious patterns, which are output from when a touch input is applied tothe touch screen.

Further, the memory 160 can include at least one of a flash memory, ahard disk type memory, a multimedia card micro type memory, a card typememory (for example, SD or XD memory), a random access memory (RAM), astatic RAM (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM) magnetic memory, amagnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory stick, etc. The mobile terminal100 can also operate in relation to a web storage performing the storingfunction of the memory 160 on the Internet or other network. The memory160 or part thereof can be referred to as a location information storageunit if it stores location information therein.

The interface 170 serves as a path to external devices connected to themobile terminal 100. External devices can be other mobile terminals,stationary terminals, auxiliary devices, etc. Further, the interface 170receives data from the external devices or power and transmits the dataor power to the internal components of the mobile terminal 100 ortransmits data of the mobile terminal 100 to the external devices. Also,the interface 170 can include a wired/wireless headset port, an externalcharger port, a wired/wireless data port, a memory card port, a port forconnecting a device having a user identification module, an audio I/Oport, a video I/O port, an earphone port, etc., for example.

In addition, the interface 170 can also interface with a useridentification module that is a chip that stores information forauthenticating the authority to use the mobile terminal 100. Forexample, the user identification module can be a user identify module(UIM), a subscriber identify module (SIM) and a universal subscriberidentify module (USIM). An identification device including the useridentification module can also be manufactured in the form of a smartcard. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to themobile terminal 100 through a port of the interface 170.

The interface 170 can also be a path through which power from anexternal cradle is provided to the mobile terminal 100 when the mobileterminal 100 is connected to the external cradle or a path through whichvarious command signals input by the user through the cradle aretransmitted to the mobile terminal 100. The various command signals orpower input from the cradle can be used as signals for confirmingwhether the mobile terminal is correctly set in the cradle.

In addition, the controller 180 controls the overall operations of themobile terminal. For example, the controller 180 performs control andprocessing for voice communication, data communication and videotelephony. As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 180 also includes amultimedia module 181 for playing multimedia. Also, the multimediamodule 181 can be included in the controller 180 as shown in FIG. 1 orcan be separated from the controller 180.

Further, the controller 180 can perform a pattern recognition processcapable of recognizing handwriting input or picture-drawing inputapplied to the touch screen as characters or images. In addition, thepower supply 190 receives external power and internal power and providespower required for the operations of the components of the mobileterminal under the control of the controller 180.

Next, FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal or ahandheld terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In this example, the handheld terminal 100 is a bar typeterminal body. However, the present invention is not limited to a bartype terminal and can be applied to terminals of various typesincluding, e.g., slide type, folder type, swing type and swivel typeterminals.

In addition, the terminal body includes a case (a casing, a housing, acover, etc.) forming the exterior of the terminal 100. In the presentembodiment, the case is divided into a front case 101 and a rear case102. Further, various electronic components are arranged in the spaceformed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least onemiddle case can also be additionally arranged between the front case 101and the rear case 102. Also, the cases can be formed of plastics throughinjection molding or made of a metal material such as stainless steel(STS) or titanium (Ti).

As shown in FIG. 2A, the display unit 151, the audio output unit 152,the camera 121, user input units 131 and 132, the microphone 122 and theinterface 170 are arranged in the terminal body, specifically, in thefront case 101. In addition, the display unit 151 occupies most of themain face of the front case 101.

Further, the audio output unit 152 and the camera 121 are arranged in aregion in proximity to one of both ends of the display unit 151. Also,the user input unit 131 and the microphone 122 are located in a regionin proximity to the other end of the display unit 151. Also include isanother user input unit 132, which is arranged with the interface 170 onthe sides of the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

Thus, in this embodiment, the user input unit 130 includes multipleoperating units (user input units) 131 and 132 that are operated toreceive commands for controlling the operation of the handheld terminal100. Further, the operating units 131 and 132 can be referred to asmanipulating portions and employ any tactile manner in which a useroperates the operating units 131 and 132 while producing a tactilefeeling.

Also, the operating units 131 and 132 can receive various inputs. Forexample, the operating unit 131 receives commands such as start and enda call, and the operating unit 132 receives commands such as to controlthe volume of the sound output from the audio output unit 152 or toconvert the display unit 151 into a touch recognition mode.

Next, FIG. 21 is a rear perspective view of the handheld terminal shownin FIG. 2A according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shownin FIG. 2B, a camera 121′ is additionally attached to the rear side ofthe terminal body, that is, the rear case 102. In this configuration,the camera 121′ has a photographing direction that is opposite to thatof the camera 121 shown in FIG. 2A and can have pixels different fromthose of the camera 121 shown in FIG. 2A.

For example, in one example, it is preferable that the camera 121 haslow pixels such that it can capture an image of the face of a user andtransmit the image to a receiving part during video telephony while thecamera 121′ has high pixels such that it can capture an image of ageneral object and does not immediately transmit the image in manysituations. The cameras 121 and 121′ can also be attached to theterminal body such that they can be rotated or popped-up.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a flash bulb 123 and a mirror 124 are additionallyarranged in proximity to the camera 121′. The flash bulb 123 lights anobject when the camera 121′ takes a picture of the object, and themirror 124 is used for the user to look at his or her face when the userwants to take a picture of themselves using the camera 121′.

An audio output unit 152′ is also additionally provided on the rear sideof the terminal body. In this embodiment, the audio output unit 152′ canachieve a stereo function with the audio output unit 152 shown in FIG.2A and be used in a speaker phone mode when the terminal is used for atelephone call.

A broadcasting signal receiving antenna can also be additionallyattached to a side of the terminal body in addition to an antenna fortelephone calls. The antenna forming a part of the broadcastingreceiving module 111 shown in FIG. 1 can be set in the terminal bodysuch that the antenna can be pulled out of the terminal body.

In addition, the power supply 190 for providing power to the handheldterminal 100 is set in the terminal body, and can be included in theterminal body or detachably attached to the terminal body. FIG. 2B alsoillustrates a touch pad 135 for sensing touch additionally attached tothe rear case 102 of the terminal 100. Further, the touch pad 135 can bea light transmission type as the display unit 151. In this instance,when the display unit 151 outputs visual information through both sides,the visual information can be recognized through the touch pad 135.

Also, the information output through both sides of the display unit 151can be controlled by the touch pad 135. In addition, a display can beadditionally attached to the touch pad 135 such that a touch screen canbe arranged even in the rear case 102. Further, the touch pad 135operates in connection with the display unit 151 of the front case 101,and can be located in parallel with the display unit 151 behind thedisplay unit 151. The touch panel 135 can also be identical to orsmaller than the display unit 151 in size.

The interoperations of the display unit 151 and the touch pad 135 willnow be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. In more detail,FIGS. 3A and 3B are front views of the handheld terminal 100 and areused for explaining an operating state of the handheld terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The display unit 151 can display various types of visual information inthe form of characters, numerals, symbols, graphic or icons. To inputthe information, at least one of the characters, numerals, symbols,graphic and icons are displayed in predetermined arrangement in the formof a keypad. Also, the keypad can be referred to as a ‘soft key’.

Further, FIG. 3A shows that touch applied to a soft key is input throughthe front side of the terminal body. The display unit 151 can be asingle area or can be divided into a plurality of regions. In the latterinstance, the display unit 151 is constructed such that the plurality ofregions interoperate with each other.

For example, and as shown in FIG. 3A, an output region 151 a and aninput region 151 b are respectively displayed in upper and lower partsof the display unit 151. The input region 151 b displays soft keys 151 cthat represent numerals used to input numbers such as telephone numbers.Thus, when a soft key 151 c is touched, a numeral corresponding to thetouched soft key is displayed on the output region 151 a. Further, whenthe user operates a first operating unit 116, a connection of a callcorresponding to a telephone number displayed on the output region 151 ais attempted.

Next, FIG. 3B is an overview of the mobile terminal 100 showing thattouch applied to soft keys is input through the rear side of theterminal body. FIG. 38 also shows the landscape of the terminal bodywhile FIG. 3A shows the portrait of the terminal body. In addition, thedisplay unit 151 is constructed such that an output image is convertedaccording to the direction in which the terminal body is located.

Further, FIG. 3B shows the operation of the handheld terminal in a textinput mode. As shown, the display unit 151 includes a touch pad display135 having an output region 135 a and an input region 135 b. A pluralityof soft keys 135 c indicating at least one of characters, symbols andnumerals are also arranged in the input region 135 b. Further, in thisembodiment, the soft keys 135 c are arranged in the form of QWERTY keys.

Thus, when the soft keys 135 c are touched through the touch pad 135,the characters, numerals and symbols corresponding to the touched softkeys 135 c are displayed on the output region 135 a. Touch input throughthe touch pad 135 can prevent the soft keys 135 c from being coveredwith user's fingers when the soft keys 135 c are touched as compared totouch input through the display unit 151. Further, when the display unit151 and the touch pad 135 are transparent, the user can see his or herfingers located behind the terminal body, and thus can select items bytouching the backside or surface of the displayed keys 135 c.

In addition, the user can scroll the display unit 151 or the touch pad135 to move an object displayed on the display unit 151, for example, byusing a cursor or a pointer located on an icon. Also, when the usermoves his or her finger on the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135,the controller 180 can visually display the user's finger moving path onthe display unit 151. This is useful to edit an image displayed on thedisplay unit 151.

Also, when the display unit 151 (touch screen) and the touch pad 135 aresimultaneously touched within a predetermined period of time, a specificfunction of the terminal can be executed. For example, the user canclamp the terminal body using their thumb and index finger. Thisspecific function can include activating or deactivating the displayunit 151 or the touch pad 135, for example.

The proximity sensor described with reference to FIG. 1 will now beexplained in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. That is, FIG. 4 is aconceptual diagram used for explaining a proximity depth of theproximity sensor.

As shown in FIG. 4, when a pointer such as a user's finger approachesthe touch screen, the proximity sensor located inside or near the touchscreen senses the approach and outputs a proximity signal. Further, theproximity sensor can be constructed such that it outputs a proximitysignal according to the distance between the pointer approaching thetouch screen and the touch screen (referred to as “proximity depth”).

Also, the distance in which the proximity signal is output when thepointer approaches the touch screen is referred to as a detectiondistance. The proximity depth can be determined using a plurality ofproximity sensors having different detection distances and comparingproximity signals respectively output from the proximity sensors.

FIG. 4 shows the section of the touch screen in which proximity sensorscapable of sensing three proximity depths are arranged. Of course,proximity sensors capable of sensing less than three or more than threeproximity depths can be arranged in the touch screen.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, when the pointer (user's finger in thisexample) completely comes into contact with the touch screen (D0), thecontroller 180 recognizes this action as the contact touch. On the otherhand, when the pointer is located within a distance D1, for example,from the touch screen, the controller 180 recognizes this action as aproximity touch of a first proximity depth.

Similarly, when the pointer is located in a range between the distanceD1 and a distance D2 from the touch screen, the controller 180recognizes this action as a proximity touch of a second proximity depth.When the pointer is located in a range between the distance D2 and adistance D3 from the touch screen, the controller 180 recognizes thisaction a proximity touch of a third proximity depth. Also, when thepointer is located at longer than the distance D3 from the touch screen,the controller 180 recognizes this action as a cancellation of proximitytouch.

Accordingly, the controller 180 can recognize the proximity touch asvarious input signals according to the proximity distance and proximityposition of the pointer with respect to the touch screen and performvarious operations according to the input signals.

The mobile device 100 of FIG. 1 may be configured to operate within acommunication system which transmits data via frames or packets,including both wireless and wireline communication systems, andsatellite-based communication systems. Such communication systemsutilize different air interfaces and/or physical layers.

Examples of such air interfaces utilized by the communication systemsinclude example, frequency division multiple access (FDMA), timedivision multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA),and universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), the long termevolution (LTE) of the UMTS, and the global system for mobilecommunications (GSM). By way of non-limiting example only, furtherdescription will relate to a CDMA communication system, but suchteachings apply equally to other system types.

Referring now to FIG. 5A, a CDMA wireless communication system is shownhaving a plurality of mobile devices 100, a plurality of base stations200, base station controllers (BSCs) 210, and a mobile switching center(MSC) 220. The MSC 220 is configured to interface with a conventionalpublic switch telephone network (PSTN) 230. The MSC 220 is alsoconfigured to interface with the BSCs 210. The BSCs 210 are coupled tothe base stations 200 via backhaul lines. The backhaul lines may beconfigured in accordance with any of several known interfaces including,for example, E1/T1, ATM, IP, PPP, Frame Relay, HDSL, ADSL, or xDSL. Itis to be understood that the system may include more than two BSCs 210.

Each base station 200 may include one or more sectors, each sectorhaving an omnidirectional antenna or an antenna pointed in a particulardirection radially away from the base station 270. Alternatively, eachsector may include two antennas for diversity reception. Each basestation 200 may be configured to support a plurality of frequencyassignments, with each frequency assignment having a particular spectrum(e.g., 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz).

The intersection of a sector and frequency assignment may be referred toas a COMA channel. The base stations 200 may also be referred to as basestation transceiver subsystems (BTSs). In some cases, the term “basestation” may be used to refer collectively to a BSC 210, and one or morebase stations 200. The base stations may also be denoted “cell sites.”Alternatively, individual sectors of a given base station 200 may bereferred to as cell sites.

A terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) transmitter 240 isshown broadcasting to portable devices 100 operating within the system.The broadcast receiving module 111 (FIG. 1) of the portable device istypically configured to receive broadcast signals transmitted by the DMBtransmitter 240. Similar arrangements may be implemented for other typesof broadcast and multicast signaling (as discussed above).

FIG. 5A further depicts several global positioning system (GPS)satellites 250. Such satellites facilitate locating the position of someor all of the portable devices 100. Two satellites are depicted, but itis understood that useful positioning information may be obtained withgreater or fewer satellites. The position information module 115(FIG. 1) of the portable device 100 is typically configured to cooperatewith the satellites 250 to obtain desired position information. It is tobe appreciated that other types of position detection technology, (i.e.,location technology that may be used in addition to or instead of GPSlocation technology) may alternatively be implemented. If desired, someor all of the GPS satellites 300 may alternatively or additionally beconfigured to provide satellite DMB transmissions.

During typical operation of the wireless communication system, the basestations 200 receive sets of reverse-link signals from various mobiledevices 100. The mobile devices 100 are engaging in calls, messaging,and other communications. Each reverse-link signal received by a givenbase station 200 is processed within that base station. The resultingdata is forwarded to an associated BSC 210. The BSC provides callresource allocation and mobility management functionality including theorchestration of soft handoffs between base stations 200. The BSCs 210also route the received data to the MSC 220, which provides additionalrouting services for interfacing with the PSTN 230. Similarly, the PSTNinterfaces with the MSC 220, and the MSC interfaces with the BSCs 210,which in turn control the base stations 200 to transmit sets offorward-link signals to the mobile devices 100.

The mobile terminal 100, as described earlier, can carry out short rangecommunication. FIG. 5C illustrates a short range communicationenvironment (local area communication) for a mobile terminal 100.

The mobile terminal 100 can carry out short range communication by usingthe local area communication module 114 with external electronic devices300 a, 300 b, 300 c, 300 d located within communication rangeaccommodated by a short range communication method. Here, the externalelectronic devices 300 a-300 d are shown as mobile phones only asexamples, and they can be any other types of electronic devices, e.g.,computers, TVs, navigation devices, kiosks, etc.

In what follows, embodiments of the present invention will be described.The various embodiments and examples of the present invention can beimplemented in the device(s) or system(s) of FIGS. 1-5C, but can beimplemented in other suitable device/system. Further, in eachembodiment, one or more features discussed in connection with any otherembodiment(s) can be equally applied to that embodiment.

The memory 160 can store a map. The map is either pre-stored in thememory 160 or received from the outside through the radio communicationunit 110. When the map is received from the outside, the map can beeither stored permanently or temporarily in the memory 160.

A message referred to in the present document may include a shortmessage service (SMS), a multimedia messaging service (MMS), and e-mail.

If the message is SMS or MMS, the message can be transferred or receivedthrough the mobile communication module 112. On the other hand, if themessage corresponds to an e-mail, the message can be transferred orreceived through the wireless Internet module 113.

First Embodiment Transfer Location Information with a Message

A method for transferring data of a mobile terminal and a mobileterminal for implementing the method according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention described later are related to a mobile terminalthat can transfer a message and location information together and amethod for transferring data using the mobile terminal.

Whether to carry out transferring a message and location informationtogether depends on a user's selection or current setting of the mobileterminal 100. In what follows, embodiments of transferring a message andlocation information together will be described in various ways.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for transferring data of a mobile terminalaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention. A method fortransferring data of a mobile terminal according to the first embodimentof the present invention can be implemented in a mobile terminal 100described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5C. In the following, withreference to FIG. 6 and related drawings, the method for transferringdata of a mobile terminal according to thee first embodiment of thepresent invention and operations of a mobile terminal 100 to implementthe method are described in detail

Referring to FIG. 6, the controller 180 receives a message andinformation on a receiver to which the message is to be sent through theuser input unit 130, at step S100. Here, the receiver to which themessage is to be sent can be a recipient (person or device) of themessage, which may be identified by using an address, a phone number, aURL, etc. The message that the controller 180 receives may be generatedby the user using the user input unit 130.

In the S100 step, the order of inputting the message and the receiver ofthe message can be changed. For example, the receiver of the message canbe input after the message has been input; the receiver of the messagecan be input while the message is being input or the receiver can beinput before the message is input.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a screen of a mobile terminal forwriting a message where a message and a receiver are specified. Amessage writing screen shown in FIG. 7 can include a message input area10, a sender information area 11, and a receiver (recipient) input area12. The user inputs the contents to be sent in the message input area 10and inputs information about the receiver of the message through thereceiver input area 12. The receiver can be set by searching a phonebook stored in the memory 160 or by the user's manual input of a phonenumber or other data identifying the receiver/recipient.

The controller 180 can receive a message transfer command from the userat step S110. The message transfer command can be received in variousways. For example, with reference to FIG. 7, if the display unit 151 isa touch screen, the message transfer command can be transferred to thecontroller 180 when the user touches, e.g., a <send> button. Also, theuser can transfer the message transfer command to the controller 180 bymanipulating the user input unit 130.

The controller 180 can select location information to be transferredwith the message at step S120.

Here, various types of the location information can be used and selectedat the S120 step. The selected location information can be locationinformation about a current location of the mobile terminal 100 (e.g.,current location of the sender) or other location information excludingthis current location information, or both,

For example, the controller 180 can select location information storedin the memory 160 or location information included in the contentsstored in the memory 160 as the location information to be transferredtogether with the message according to a selection signal of the user.

Also, the controller 180 can select location information to betransferred together with the message by obtaining location informationabout a current location of the mobile terminal 100 by controlling theposition information module 115.

The controller 180 can provide a separate user interface to be used forselecting the location information. Also, the controller 180 can providea user interface for selecting location information stored in the memory160 according to a predefined setting or automatically obtain locationinformation about a current location of the mobile terminal 100, thususing the obtained location information as the location information tobe transferred together with the message.

The location information, as described above, can be acquired in variousways such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), cellidentification (cell-ID), and wireless LAN-based location sensingtechnique.

The location information can include latitude and longitude information.For example, the location information can include latitude and longitudeinformation such as “37 degrees 29 minutes 54 seconds North, 127 degrees1 minute 37 seconds East”. Also, the location information can include ageographical name corresponding to the latitude and longitudeinformation. The controller 180, by using map data stored in the memory160, can obtain a geographical name corresponding to the latitude andlongitude information. For example, a geographical name corresponding to“37 degrees 29 minutes 54 seconds North, 127 degrees 1 minute 37 secondsEast” can be “Gangnam station”.

The execution time of the S120 step can be varied. Although FIG. 6illustrates a case where the S120 step is carried out after theexecution of the steps of S100 and S110, embodiments described in thepresent document are not limited by the illustrated case. For example,the S120 step can be carried out right after a message writing screenshown in FIG. 7 is activated or the S120 step can be carried out at thesame time of the activation. Also, the controller 180, irrespective ofthe activation of the message writing screen, can periodically obtainlocation information about a current location of the mobile terminal100. The memory 160 can store location information about a currentlocation of the mobile terminal 100. If the controller 180 obtains thelocation information periodically, location information about a currentlocation of the mobile terminal 100 stored in the memory 160 can beupdated periodically.

The controller 180 determines whether a mode for location informationtransfer is set as automatic (hereinafter, it is referred to as a “firstautomatic mode”) S130. The controller 180, if the mode for locationinformation transfer is set as manual rather than the first automaticmade, can display a user interface (UI; hereinafter, it is referred toas a “first user selection UI”) through which the user can select a datastructure (e.g., whether to use separate files) of the locationinformation to be transferred to the receiver S140.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a screen displaying such a first userselection UI 20. The first user selection UI 20 can include an inquiryfor the user to decide whether to transfer the location informationabout the current location of the mobile terminal 100 as a separate filetogether with a file containing the input message or to transfer thelocation information as being included in the message. The referencenumber 21 of FIG. 8 is an indicator 21 for specifying a currentlyselected item.

The controller 180, if the mode for location information transfer is setas the first automatic mode, carries out S150 step to be described laterwithout, displaying the first user selection UI 20 on the screen.

The controller 180 determines whether a current setting mode of thefirst automatic mode or the user's selection through the first userselection UI 20 specifies transferring the location information as aseparate file together with the message at step S150. For instance, themessage would be contained in a file separate from the file containingthe location information, although the two files would betransferred/transmitted together at the same time.

The controller 180, according to the determination of the step S150,either transfers a message including the location information therein tothe receiver at S160 or transfers a file including the locationinformation to the receiver together with the message contained in aseparate file at step S170. Here, the location information may berelated to the message, but may not be.

The controller 180, in the S160 step, can transfer the locationinformation being included in the message after preparing the locationinformation as text information or transfer the location informationbeing recorded in a particular field reserved in a data structure of themessage.

In the S170 step, the file including the location information beingtransferred as a separate file together with the file containing themessage can take various forms.

The location information can include latitude and longitude information.The file including the location information can take such a form thatthe latitude and longitude information are recorded in predefinedfields, respectively. For example, the file including the locationinformation can be prepared in the form of V-Object. Typical examples ofa V-Object file are V-Card and V-Calendar.

V-Card is a protocol designed for carrying out the same functions aselectronic business cards, which is a data stream provided in acompatible format irrespective of types of systems or applications. Adata stream for each user can include a name, address, phone number,e-mail address, Internet URL, photo, company logo, and sound fileinformation and at the time of transferring a data stream, can betransferred to a third party being attached to an electronic mailthrough MIME encoding.

V-Calendar is a protocol designed for sharing schedule information amongpeople who may use different calendars or daily planner programs byproviding electronic calendaring and a scheduling format. V-Calendar caninclude data streams and to-do lists and events thereof are representedin a standard format and can be transferred to a third party for datasharing being attached to an electronic mail through MIME encoding.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a V-Card file. Location informationprepared in the form of V-Object can take a structure similar to that ofV-Card shown in FIG. 9. For example, location information prepared inthe form of V-Object can include data fields such as “title”,“latitude”, and “longitude”.

Also, the file including the location information can include thelocation information in the form of a text.

When the location information and the message are managed andtransferred as separate files, the message can include informationrelated to the location information in a particular field. On the otherhand, the file including the location information can includeinformation related to the message in a particular field. Or,information indicating a relationship between the location informationand the message can be transferred in the form of separate controlinformation; this is because a message and location informationtransferred as separate files should be recognizable by a receiver(device receiving the message).

The file including the location information, the file being able to beprepared in various ways, can be managed as a separate file from themessage, thereby helping the receiver/recipient easily recognize and usethe location information.

Second Embodiment Selective Transfer of Location Information inAccordance to a Receiver of a Message

A method for transferring data of a mobile terminal and a mobileterminal for implementing the method according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention described later is related to a mobile terminalthat can transfer location information selectively according to areceiver at the time of transferring a message and a method using themobile terminal. Depending on a receiver, location information may ormay not be transferred. In what follows, embodiments for selectivetransfer of location information according to a receiver of a messagewill be described in various ways.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for transferring data of a mobile terminalaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention. The methodfor transferring data of a mobile terminal according to the secondembodiment of the present invention can be implemented in a mobileterminal 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5C. In thefollowing, with reference to FIG. 10 and related drawings, the methodfor transferring data of a mobile terminal according to the secondembodiment of the present invention and operations of a mobile terminal100 to implement the method are described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 10, the controller 180 can receive a message and areceiver to which the message is to be sent through the user input unit130, at step S200 and can receive a message send/transfer command fromthe user at step S210. The steps of S200 and S210 are the same as orsimilar to the steps of S100 and S110 of FIG. 6, respectively.

The controller 180 determines a location information transfer mode formanaging transfer of location information at step S220, which indicatesthat the message is to be transmitted/transferred either with thelocation information or without the location information. Particularly,the controller 180 determines if the location information transfer modeis set as ‘transfer’ with respect to the receiver of the message, atstep S220. The ‘transfer’ would indicate that the location informationis to be transmitted with the message. For instance, for each specificreceiver of messages, e.g., for each destination phone number orrecipient, the mobile terminal 100 can be set up to send messages withor without location information to that receiver. As a result, differentreceivers can selectively and automatically receive messages with orwithout location information.

The location information transfer mode indicates a management mode aboutwhether to transfer location information together at the time oftransferring a message to a particular receiver. The locationinformation transfer mode can be stored in the memory 160 of the mobileterminal 100 (of the sender) for each of different receivers that canreceive messages. For instance, for each of the different receivers ofmessages, a specific location information transfer mode may be set andstored in the memory 160 of the mobile terminal 100.

The location information transfer mode can be set in various ways. Forexample, the location information transfer mode can be set by the user,separately and independently, for each of multiple receivers/recipients(or groups of multiple receivers/recipients) registered in a phonebook,address book or contact book stored in the memory 160.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a screen registering a new entity in aphonebook of the mobile terminal 100. With reference to FIG. 11, afunction for setting location information transfer through a phonebookregistration screen can be provided. The controller 180 can provide thephonebook registration screen with a first input area 30 for receiving“name”, “mobile phone number”, “home phone number”, “office phonenumber”, “e-mail address”, etc. and a second input area 31 for receivingor setting information about the location information transfer. The usercan input or set information about the location information transfer ofa particular phonebook entity/entry (e.g., for each recipient) throughthe second input area 31. The second input area 31 can include a firstsub input area 31 a to set whether to transfer location information anda second sub input area 31 b to set whether or not to transfer thelocation information automatically.

For example, the location information transfer mode can be set in such away that location information is transferred/sent to all the receivers(recipients) corresponding to the phone numbers that begin withparticular numbers (or include particular numbers) such as “011”, “02”,or “070”. Also, for example, the location information transfer mode canbe set in such a way that location information is transferred to all thereceivers corresponding to the phone numbers that correspond to aparticular area, e.g., particular area code of phone numbers, or zipcode of addresses. The controller 180 can recognize the particular areacorresponding to a particular receiver by using a phone number (forexample, a country code indicating a particular country or an area codeindicating a particular area) or location information indicating acurrent location of a receiver.

The controller 180, if it is found at step S220 that the locationinformation transfer mode for the input receiver is set as ‘nottransfer’, transfers only the input message to the input receiverwithout the location information, in the same manner as a generalsituation at step S230.

The controller 180, if it is found at step S220 that the locationinformation transfer mode for the input receiver is set as ‘transfer’,determines whether or not the location information transfer mode is setas automatic transfer mode (hereinafter, it is called a “secondautomatic mode”), at step S240.

The controller 180, if it is found at step S240 that the secondautomatic mode is not set, can display a user interface UI (hereinafter,it is called a “first user inquiry UI”) for obtaining an approval forthe transfer of the location information from the user, at step S250.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a screen displaying such a first userinquiry UI 35. The first user inquiry UI 35 shown in FIG. 12 can bedisplayed as the user selects a “Send” button on the screen of FIG. 7.The first user inquiry UI 35 can also include the contents or textsasking the user about whether or not to transfer location informationabout a current location of the mobile terminal 100 to the inputreceiver.

The controller 180 determines existence of an approval from the userthrough the first user inquiry UI 35, S260. The controller 180, if it isfound at the S260 step that an approval from the user does not exist,carries out the S230 step described earlier.

The controller 180, if it is found at the S260 step that an approvalfrom the user exists, obtains location information about a currentlocation of the mobile terminal 100 by controlling the positioninformation module 115, at step S270 and transfers the obtained locationinformation and the input message together to the input receiver at stepS280. The S270 step can be the same as or similar to the S120 step ofFIG. 6. For instance, the location information here can indicate acurrent location of the mobile terminal 100 or can be other locationinformation. The method for transferring the location information andthe message at the S280 step can be implemented in various ways as thefirst embodiment of the present invention described above. For instance,the location information and the message can be sent together in onefile or in multiple separate files.

Third Embodiment Reduction of Data Size for Location Information

A method for transferring data of a mobile terminal and a mobileterminal for implementing the method according to a third embodiment ofthe present invention described later is related to a mobile terminalthat can reduce the data size of location information and transfer thelocation information of the reduced data size together with a messageand a method using the mobile terminal. If the data size of the locationinformation is reduced, a burden for data processing in a network, asender mobile terminal, and a receiver mobile terminal can be reduced.In what follows, embodiments for reducing the data size of locationinformation will be described in various ways.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transferring data ofa mobile terminal according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention. The method for transferring data of a mobile terminalaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention can beimplemented in a mobile terminal 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1to 5C. In what follows, with reference to FIG. 13 and related drawings,the method for transferring data of a mobile terminal according to thethird embodiment of the present invention and a mobile terminal 100 forimplementing the method will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 13, the controller 180 can receive a message and areceiver to which the message is to be sent through the user input unit130, at step S300 and can receive a message send command from the userat step S310. The steps of S300 and S310 are the same as or similar tothe steps of S100 and S110 of FIG. 6, respectively.

The controller 180 obtains location information about a current locationof the mobile terminal 100 by controlling the position informationmodule 115, at step S320. The S330 step is the same as or identical tothe S120 step of FIG. 6.

The controller 180 can change the representation format of the obtainedlocation information according to a predefined method to reduce the datasize of the obtained location information at step S330.

In the S330 step, a method for changing the representation format of theobtained location information can be implemented in various ways. Someexamples are as follows.

The location information, as described in the embodiments describedabove, can include latitude and longitude information. The latitude andlongitude information can be expressed by coordinate values.

The controller 180 can change the representation format of the obtainedlocation information by using a method of deleting a predefined numberof digits corresponding to certain coordinate values about at least oneof the latitude and longitude. Such digits may carry common values forvarious locations so that they can be eliminated. For instance,locations within one country may have same beginning values for thelatitude and/or longitude so that they may not be needed. Examples arediscussed below referring to FIGS. 14A-15.

FIG. 14A illustrates the range of latitude and longitude of South Koreaand FIG. 14B illustrates the range of latitude and longitude of Seoul,which is the capital of Korea. With reference to FIG. 14A, the latitudefor South Korea ranges about between 33 and 38 degrees of North and thelongitude ranges about between 125 and 129 degrees of East (excludingUlleung island). If location information is transferred between usersliving in South Korea, the location information can be transferred andreceived between these users, with the first digit value “3” of thelatitude coordinate value (“33”−“38”) and the first and second digitvalues “1” and “2” of the longitude coordinate value (“125”−“129”) beingdeleted. Mobile terminals participating in transferring and receiving alatitude/longitude value with at least one of leading digits deleted candefine in advance the number of digits to be deleted.

Also, if the range of Korea is narrowed down to a smaller area, morethan two leading digits can be deleted from the digits constituting alatitude and longitude coordinate value. For example, with reference toFIG. 148, the latitude for Seoul ranges about between N 37° 25′ and N37° 41′ and the longitude for Seoul ranges about between E 126° 47′ andE 127° 11′. Therefore, mobile terminals in Seoul can transfer andreceive location information with each other, with the digit values “3”and “7” (i.e., 37°) corresponding to the first two digits of a latitudecoordinate value and the digit values “1” and “2” (i.e., 12)corresponding to the first two digits of a longitude coordinate valuedeleted from the location information. That is, the representationformat of the location information is modified to reduce the data sizeof the location information being transferred.

Also, the controller 180 can change the representation format of theobtained location information by setting the difference betweencoordinate values of a current location of the mobile terminal 100expressed by the latitude and longitude and coordinate values of apredefined location expressed by the latitude and longitude as thelocation information. This example of discussed referring to FIG. 15.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a reference location for latitude andlongitude defined in Korea.

With reference to FIG. 15, latitude and longitude coordinates about acurrent location (“A”) of the mobile terminal 100 are (N 37° 31′ 56″, E127° 06′ 35″) and latitude and longitude coordinates about a referencelocation (“O”) are (N 36° 19′ 38″, E 127° 26′ 02″).

The controller 180 can set (N1° 12′ 18″, E −40′ 33″) corresponding tothe difference between these latitude and longitude coordinates of thecurrent location (“A”) and latitude and longitude coordinates of thereference location (“O”) as location information to be transferred tothe input receiver. The receiver mobile terminal (i.e., input receiver)stores latitude and longitude coordinates of the reference location. Andthe receiver, by receiving the difference as the location informationand adding the received difference to the latitude and longitudecoordinates of the reference location “O”, can obtain the accuratelocation information of the current location “A”.

Also, the controller 180 can change the representation format of theobtained location information by lowering precision of the coordinatevalues of latitude and longitude to a predefined level.

For example, let us suppose that the coordinate values of a currentlocation of the mobile terminal 100 are (N 37°30′ 53.69″, E 126°59′56.01″). The controller 180, by lowering the precision of the obtainedcoordinate values down to (N 37° 30′, E 126°59′), can reduce the datasize of the obtained location information.

Other ways to reduce the data size of location information to be sent toreceivers of the location information can be used.

Various methods of reducing the data size of location informationdescribed above can be used in a combined manner. For example, thecontroller 180 can set location information to be sent to a receiver(recipient of a message) as a difference between the coordinate valuesof a current location of the mobile terminal 100 and those of thereference location (“O”) after lowering the precision of the coordinatevalues of the current location. Application order and types of employedmethods for reducing the data size of the location information should beshared among mobile terminals that transfer and receive a message.

The controller 180 sends the input message and the changed locationinformation to the input receiver, at step S340.

Fourth Embodiment Use of Received Location Information at a ReceiverTerminal

A method for receiving data of a mobile terminal and a mobile terminalfor implementing the method according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention described later is related to a mobile terminal thatenables a receiver terminal which received location information and amessage together to use received location information in various waysand a method using the mobile terminal. In what follows, embodiments forvarious uses of location information received together with a messagewill be described in various ways.

FIG. 16 illustrates a method for receiving data of a mobile terminalaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The methodfor receiving data of a mobile terminal according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention can be implemented in a mobileterminal 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5C. In thefollowing, with reference to FIG. 16 and related drawings, the methodfor receiving data of a mobile terminal according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention and operations of a mobile terminal100 to implement the method are described in detail. The steps shown inFIG. 16 are performed on a receiver that receives a message, such as arecipient's terminal which may be a mobile terminal or non-mobileterminal.

Referring to FIG. 16, the controller 180 of a receiver such as arecipient's terminal 100 receives a message at step S400 and determineswhether location information is provided with the received message atstep S410. FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a message received by therecipient's terminal 100. The contents of the message received by thereceiver as illustrated in FIG. 17 are assumed to be the same as thoseof the message sent from a sender illustrated in FIG. 7.

If location information (e.g., current location of sender's terminal,other location information, etc.) is provided with the received message,the location information can be provided with the message in variousways. As described above, the received message can include the locationinformation as a separate file (file separate from a file containing themessage) or as a text embedded in the message. Also, the locationinformation can be tagged to a particular field of a data structureconstituting the received message.

The controller 180, if it is found at the S410 step that the receivedmessage is provided with the location information, determines whether anautomatic storage mode (hereinafter, it is referred to as a “thirdautomatic mode”) is set, the automatic storage mode managing whether toautomatically carry out storing of the location information in therecipient's terminal 100 at step S420.

The controller 180, if the third automatic mode is not set, can displaya user interface (hereinafter, it is referred to as a “second userinquiry UI”) for inquiring whether to store the location informationprovided with the received message of the user at step S430 anddetermine the existence of an approval from the user through the seconduser inquiry UI at step S440.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a screen displaying such a second userinquiry UI 40 on the recipients' terminal 100. Whether or not to displaythe second user inquiry UI 40 illustrated in FIG. 18 can be determinedafter the message is received and results of carrying out the steps ofS410 and S420 are obtained. The second user inquiry UI 40 can includethe contents inquiring the user of whether to store or delete thelocation information provided with the received message.

The controller 180, if the third automatic mode is set or an approvalfrom the user is obtained through the second user inquiry UI 40, canstore the location information provided with the received message in thememory 160 of the recipient's terminal 100, at step S450. The locationinformation can be stored in the memory 160 temporarily or permanently.

The controller 180 determines whether the type of an application thatuses the received location information is set previously (hereinafter,it is referred to as a “fourth automatic mode”) at step S460.

The controller 180, if it is found at the S460 step that the type of anapplication that uses the received location information is not setpreviously, can display a user interface for receiving the user'sselection of an application to use the received location information(hereinafter, it is referred to as a “second user selection UI”) at stepS470.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a screen displaying such a second userselection UI 50. The second user selection UI 50 can include thecontents inquiring the user of the type of an application that will usethe received location information. The reference number 51 of FIG. 19 isan indicator 51 for specifying a currently selected item.

The controller 180, according to the result of the S460 step, executeseither an application selected through the second user selection UI 50at step S480 or an application set previously at step S481. And at stepS490 the controller 180 can utilize the stored location information forcarrying out a function provided by a particular application executed atstep S480 or S481. For instance, according to the setting of therecipient's terminal 100, when location information is received togetherwith a message, the location information can be automatically stored inthe terminal 100 and/or the location information can trigger anautomatic executing/opening of a particular application for using thelocation information.

Various applications can use the stored location information. Forexample, the application can be a communication application fortransferring the stored location information to an external electronicdevice. The communication application can be a message application. Theuser, by using the message application, can transfer the receivedlocation information to a third party.

On the other hand, the communication application can be a short rangecommunication application for transferring the stored locationinformation by using a short range communication method. The user cantransfer the received location information to an external electronicdevice by using the short range communication application. For instance,the user in a taxi can transmit the location information (e.g., as adestination) to the taxi's terminal (e.g., installed on a dash board)using this feature.

Likewise, the application can be a map application that can display thestored location information on a map. For example, the controller 180,according to the result of the S460 step, can display the storedlocation information on a map if the selected application is a mapapplication. This is discussed referring to FIG. 20.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of displaying received locationinformation on a map. With reference to FIG. 20, the controller 180 canprovide a pop-up window 60 that displays a map and displays a location61 corresponding to the received location information on the map. Inthis way, the user at the receiver's side may recognize the locationinformation easily.

Fifth Embodiment Data Transfer by Using a Short Range CommunicationMethod

FIG. 21 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transferring data ofa mobile terminal according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 22 is a detailed flow diagram of step S510 of FIG. 21.The method for transferring data of a mobile terminal according to thefifth embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in a mobileterminal 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5C. In thefollowing, with reference to FIG. 21 and related drawings, the methodfor transferring data of a mobile terminal according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention and operations of a mobile terminal100 to implement the method are described in detail. Here, the mobileterminal 100 can be a sender's terminal, receiver's terminal, externalelectronic device, etc.

Referring to FIG. 21, the controller 180 of the mobile terminal 100receives a signal that selects a particular electronic device from amongexternal electronic devices 300 a, 300 b, 300 c, 300 d located within acommunication range 400 (e.g., see FIG. 5A) accommodated by the localarea communication module 114, at step S500. The controller 180 canprovide the user with a list of the electronic devices 300 a, 300 b, 300c, 300 d located with the communication range 400. The user can select aparticular electronic device from the provided list. The externalelectronic devices can be any type of electronic device.

FIG. 23 illustrates a situation where the user selects an externalelectronic device located with communication range, e.g., at step S500.In the example of FIG. 23, five external electronic devices are shown tobe located within the Bluetooth communication range, which is an exampleof a local area communication range. Also shown is a communicationsignal strength 70 for each external electronic device. The referencenumber 71 is a first indicator 71 for specifying a currently selectedelectronic device.

Meanwhile, with reference to FIG. 23, various functional icons 80, 81,82 are provided in the area of <location information>. Functionscorresponding to the respective functional icons are described later.

The controller 180 transfers data including location information to theselected electronic device by using a short range communication method(also referred to as a local area communication method) S510. Here, thelocation information preferably excludes a current location of themobile terminal 100, but may include it if desired. Further, thelocation information that is transferred from the mobile terminal 100 tothe selected external electronic device can be a plurality of differentlocation information stored in the mobile terminal 100 or received bythe mobile terminal 100.

The short range communication method can utilize Bluetooth, infrareddata association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), or ZigBee. It should benoted that the aforementioned short range communication methods followthe respective communication protocols.

With reference to FIG. 22, a detailed procedure of the S510 step isdescribed.

The controller 180 can provide multiple data including locationinformation preferably excluding a current location of the mobileterminal 100, at step S511. The controller 180 receives a signal thatselects particular data from among the provided multiple data at stepS513. The controller 180 can transfer the data selected from the S513step to the selected external electronic device by using a short rangecommunication method at step S515.

In the present embodiment, the location information being transferredfrom the mobile terminal 100 to the selected external electronic devicecan be obtained through various ways. For example, the locationinformation can be received from an external electronic device. At thispoint, various communication methods can be used for communicatingbetween an external electronic device that transfers the locationinformation and the mobile terminal 100. In other words, the locationinformation is not necessarily transferred and received through a shortrange communication method only. For example, the location informationcan be received either through the mobile communication module 112 orthrough the wireless Internet module 113. Also, the location informationcan be received in the form of data broadcasting through thebroadcasting receiver module 111.

In addition, the location information can be received in the form ofcontents including location information from an external electronicdevice. The contents can be any one of a still image, video, text, andmessage. The location information can be contained in a particular fieldof a data structure of the contents.

Also, the location information can be obtained by the positioninformation module 115 of the mobile terminal 100. At this point, thelocation information is not the one obtained at a current location wherethe mobile terminal 100 is located; rather, the location information isthe one obtained previously by using the position information module 115at a different location.

The location information, as described earlier, can be obtained invarious ways such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), cellidentification (cell-ID), and wireless LAN-based location sensing.

The location information can include latitude and longitude information.For example, first location information rather than a current locationof the mobile terminal 100 can be latitude and longitude informationsuch as “N 37° 29′ 54”, E 127° 01′ 37″.

Also, the location information can include a geographical namecorresponding to the latitude and longitude. The controller 180 canobtain a geographical name corresponding to the latitude and longitudeby using map data stored in the memory 160. For example, a geographicalname corresponding to “N 37° 29′ 54”, E 127° 01′ 37″″ can be “Gangnamstation”. Therefore, the location information can include latitude andlongitude information of “N 37° 29′ 54”. E 127° 01′ 37″″ and ageographical name of “Gangnam station” corresponding thereto.

The location information can be stored in the memory 160. The memory 160can store a location information database including a plurality ofdifferent location information. The location information database can bemanaged by a separate management application. In the S511 step, theplurality of data can be provided through a graphic user interface (GUI)corresponding to the management application.

For example, in the S511 step, the controller 180 can provide thelocation information database for the user through the GUI. At thispoint, the controller 180, if the location information corresponding toa current location of the mobile terminal 100 exists in the locationinformation database, can provide remaining location information,excluding the location information corresponding to the current locationof the mobile terminal 100.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example where a location information database isprovided through a GUI on a screen of the mobile terminal 100. Thescreen shown in FIG. 24 can be displayed when an icon <DB> 80 of FIG. 22is selected. For instance, the icon <DB> 80 is the one intended forproviding a function to display location information stored in thememory 160 on the display unit 151.

In a <location information> area of FIG. 24, a plurality of differentlocation information is displayed. The plurality of location informationdisplayed in a <location information> area, as described above, cancorrespond to various location information about a location, whichpreferably excludes a current location of the mobile terminal 100. Thereference number 72 is a second indicator 72 for specifying currentlyselected location information.

If the user selects an icon <BACK> 83 of FIG. 24, a screen shown in FIG.23 can be recovered and displayed. And if the user selects an icon <SEN>84, the controller 180 transfers currently selected second locationinformation as indicated by the indicator 72 to a currently selectedfirst electronic device as indicated by the indicator 71 throughBluetooth communication or other local area communication techniques.

Also, the controller 180 can provide a search tool for searching thelocation information database for particular location information. Theuser can search the location information database for particularlocation information by using the search tool. This is discussed in moredetail referring to FIG. 25.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a screen where a search tool to searchfor location information is provided on the screen of the mobileterminal 100. The screen of FIG. 25 can be displayed when an icon<SEARCH> 81 of FIG. 23 is selected. For instance, the icon <SEARCH> 81is the one intended for providing a search tool to search for locationinformation stored in the memory 160.

The controller 180, as shown in FIG. 25, can provide a search window 90for searching for location information desired by the user. The user cansearch for location information corresponding to the input locationinformation (or location information including the input locationinformation) by inputting the user's desired location informationthrough the search window 90 and selecting a search button 85. Aresulting screen after the search can be similar to that of FIG. 24.

In the S511 step, the controller 180 can provide the user with a list ofcontents including location information excluding a current location ofthe mobile terminal 100.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of a screen where a list of contentsincluding location information is provided. The screen of FIG. 26 can bedisplayed when an icon <CONTENTS> 82 of FIG. 23 is selected. Forinstance, the icon <CONTENTS> 82 is the one intended for providing afunction to display a list of contents (which are stored in the memory160) including location information on the display unit 151.

In a <location information> area of FIG. 26, a plurality of differentlocation contents are displayed. The plurality of contents displayed inthe <location information> area, as described above, can includelocation information about a location, which is not a current locationof the mobile terminal 100. The reference number 73 is a third indicator73 for specifying currently selected contents.

If the user selects an icon <BACK> 83 of FIG. 26, the screen shown inFIG. 23 can be recovered and displayed. And if the user selects an icon<SEND> 84 in FIG. 26, the controller 180 transfers a currently selectedsecond photo as indicated by the indicator 73 to a currently selectedfirst electronic device as indicated by the indicator by the indicator71 through Bluetooth communication or other local area communicationtechniques. The second photo, as described above, includes locationinformation of a location other than a current location of the mobileterminal 100.

Meanwhile, the controller 180 can transfer only the location informationincluded in the selected contents from a list of contents includinglocation information to the selected first electronic device. Forexample, if the user selects an icon <SEND> 84 of FIG. 26, thecontroller 180 can transfer only the location information included inthe currently selected second photo to the currently selected firstelectronic device through the Bluetooth communication.

FIG. 27 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for transmitting data ofa mobile terminal according to the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 28 to 32 illustrate examples of a screen where themethod for transmitting data of a mobile terminal is implementedaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In theexamples of FIGS. 28-32, the location information is organized anddisplayed based on certain criteria on the display unit of the mobileterminal.

The method for transmitting data of a mobile terminal according to thesixth embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in a mobileterminal 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5C. In what follows,with reference to FIG. 27 and related drawings, the method fortransmitting data of a mobile terminal according to the sixth embodimentof the present invention and operations of a mobile terminal 100 toimplement the method are described in detail.

The controller 180 of the mobile terminal 100 receives a locationinformation request signal from the outside at step S700. The locationinformation request signal can be received from an outside locationproviding server or other entity through the radio communication unit110 of the mobile terminal 100. Also, the location information requestsignal can be received from an outside separate terminal) together witha message through the radio communication unit 110. The message referredto in the present embodiment or document may include short messageservice (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), and e-mail. If themessage is SMS or MMS, the message can be received through the mobilecommunication module 112. On the other hand, if the message correspondsto an e-mail, the message can be received through the wireless Internetmodule 113.

Meanwhile, the S700 step can be omitted. In other words, the methods fortransmitting data according to the present invention can be carried outwithout receiving a location information request signal from theoutside. For example, without receiving a location information requestsignal from the outside, the user can send location informationaccording to the present invention to the outside at the user's ownchoice.

The controller 180 determines whether or not location informationrequested by the location information request signal or locationinformation to be transferred by the user is about a particular locationother than a current location of the mobile terminal 100 at step S710.This determination step can be carried out in various ways. For example,if the location information request signal is included in a receivedmessage, it is determined based on whether a predefined keyword isincluded in the message and/or a sender that transferred the receivedmessage is registered in a phonebook stored in the memory.

If it is found at the step 710 that the location information requestedby the location information request signal or location information to betransferred by the user is about the current location, the locationinformation about the current location of the mobile terminal 100 isobtained or received so that it can be transferred/transmitted out atstep S750. The controller 180 can obtain the location information, e.g.,current location of the mobile terminal 100, by controlling the positioninformation module 115. The location information, as described earlier,can be obtained in various ways such as Global Navigation SatelliteSystem (GNSS), cell identification (cell-ID), and wireless LAN-basedlocation sensing technique.

The location information can be received or obtained in various ways.For example, the current location information (e.g., current location ofthe mobile terminal 100) can include latitude and longitude information.Also, the current location information can include a geographical namecorresponding to the latitude and longitude. For example, as shown inFIG. 28, the location information can include (32.1, 121.8) which islatitude and longitude value. At this point, (32.1, 121.8) can represent32.1 degrees of north and 121.8 degrees of east. Also, a geographicalname corresponding to the latitude and longitude value of (32.1, 121.8)can be received together. For example, a geographical name COEX mallcorresponding to the latitude and longitude value of (32.1, 121.8) canbe received together.

Meanwhile, if it is found at the S710 step that location informationrequested by the location information request signal or locationinformation to be transferred by the user is about a particular locationand/or an arbitrary location other than the current location, thecontroller 180 can provide the display unit 151 with a plurality oflocation information (other than the current location information of themobile terminal 100) stored in the memory 160 of the mobile terminal100, at step S720. A method for providing this plurality of locationinformation can be carried out in various ways and discussed referringto FIG. 28.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of a screen provided by a graphical userinterface (GUI) corresponding to an application for managing locationinformation stored in a mobile terminal 100.

With reference to FIG. 28, a plurality of location information can bedisplayed on a graphic user interface corresponding to an applicationfor managing all the location information stored in the memory 160 ofthe mobile terminal 100 (e.g., location information list screen 66)irrespective of a storage destination. The location information listscreen 66 can display on the display unit 151 an indicator 63designating particular location information from among a plurality oflocation information.

The indicator 63 can be moved among a plurality of location informationby a command signal received from the user through the user input unit130. For example, the user, by manipulating arrow keys equipped in akeypad or using a touch screen, can move the indicator 63 among aplurality of location information. Also, one location information amonga plurality of location information can be selected by selectinglocation information where the indicator 63 is currently located.

If the controller 180 cannot display all of location informationdisplayed on the location information list screen 66 within the fullscreen, a scroll bar 62 can be provided for the display unit 151. Theuser, by manipulating the scroll bar 62, can scroll up and down thescreen.

Also, the location information list screen 66 can display a storagedestination where the corresponding location information is stored. Thatis, the storage destination indicates a particular storage unit in whichthe corresponding location information is stored within the mobileterminal 100. For example, not only a geographical information, COEXmall and latitude and longitude coordinate values of (32.1, 121.8) ofthe corresponding particular location information but also a map whichis a storage destination of the corresponding location information canbe displayed together.

Meanwhile, the controller 180, by sequentially ordering (listing incertain order) a plurality of location information stored in the memory160 of the mobile terminal 100 in terms of the number of transfers toother terminals, can arrange a plurality of location information in theorder/sequence of transfer frequency on the location information listscreen 66, thereby providing a plurality of location information about aparticular location. This is shown in FIG. 29.

As shown in an example of FIG. 29, the location information list screen66 can display the number of transfers for each location information.For example, not only a geographical information, COEX mall and latitudeand longitude coordinate values of (32.1, 121.8) of the correspondingparticular location information but also the number of transfers of thecorresponding location information (e.g., “20”) can be displayedtogether. Here, “20” may mean that this location information has beentransmitted to another device from the current mobile terminal 100 fortwenty times. Accordingly, the user can easily identify the locationinformation which is transferred frequently and therefore, can easilysearch location information of high transfer frequency.

Also, the controller 180, by ordering or organizing a plurality oflocation information stored in the memory 160 of the mobile terminal 100in terms of the date transferred to other terminals, arranges aplurality of location information in the order of transfer date on thelocation information list screen 66, thereby providing a plurality oflocation information about a particular location. As shown in FIG. 30,the location information list screen 66 can display the transfer date ofthe corresponding location information

For example, not only a geographical information, COEX mall and latitudeand longitude coordinate values of (32.1, 121.8) of the correspondingparticular location information but also the transfer date of thecorresponding location information “08/10/18” can be displayed together.At this point, “08/10/18” represents the date when the correspondinglocation information has recently been transferred (e.g., last transferdate). Accordingly, the user can easily search for the locationinformation recently transferred and location information transferred ata particular date.

Also, the controller 180 can organize a plurality of locationinformation stored in the memory 160 of the mobile terminal 100 in termsof storage destination and thus provide the arranged locationinformation for the respective applications including locationinformation stored in the mobile terminal 100. As shown in FIG. 31, thelocation information list screen 66 displays storage destinations wherea plurality of location information is stored, the storage destinationsbeing classified according to categories.

Also, the number of location information stored according to categoriescan be displayed together. For example, by doing so, among a pluralityof location information, the user can easily recognize the following inthe example of FIG. 31: 1. the number of location information stored ina message box is 20; 2. the number of location information stored in anaddress book is 52; 3. the number of location information stored in acall history is 30; 4. the number of location information stored in amap is 102; and 5. the number of location information stored in an albumis 22.

Also, the location information list screen 66 can display storagedestinations where a plurality of location information is stored, whichare classified not only by the categories but also by hierarchicalstructure. Therefore, the user can easily search for a plurality oflocation information stored according to applications including locationinformation.

Also, the controller 180 can store a plurality of location informationstored in the memory 160 of the mobile terminal 100 by matching theplurality of location information with particular positions of a map 64provided by the mobile terminal 100 and display particular positions ofthe map 64 with which the location information is matched as particularsymbols 65. For instance, the symbols 65 indicate locationscorresponding to various location information stored in the mapdatabase. Subsequently, if the user selects a particular symbol 65 fromthe map 64 on the display unit 151, location information correspondingto the selected particular symbol 65 can be provided for transfer.

Returning to FIG. 27, as described in FIGS. 28 to 32, the controller180, from among a plurality of location information provided in variousways, selects location information about a particular location desiredby the user through the user input unit 130, at S730.

The controller 180 determines whether to transfer the locationinformation about the particular location selected at the S730 stepand/or location information about the current location received at theS750 step, after processing the location information at step S760. Ifthe location information is transferred after the processing thereofbased on the determination result of the S760 step, the locationinformation is transferred to other terminal(s) or external electronicdevice(s) and may be included in any one of still images, video, text,and map data at step S770.

Meanwhile, if the location information only is transferred aftercarrying out the S760 step, only the location information is transferredto other terminal(s) at step S780.

Transfer at the steps of S770 and S780 can be carried out in variousways. The location information can be transferred together with amessage, that is, SMS or MMS through the mobile communication module112. Also, the location information can be transferred along with ane-mail through the wireless Internet module 113.

In addition, from among a plurality of location information illustratedin FIG. 29 or 30, location information of the highest transfer frequencyor location information transferred most recently can be immediatelytransferred by inputting specific keys of the mobile terminal 100.

Also, the selected location information can be transferred by a shortrange communication method through the local area communication module114 of the mobile terminal 100.

Methods for transferring and receiving data of a mobile terminalaccording to the embodiments of the present invention described abovecan be provided or implemented as being recorded in a computer-readablestorage medium as a program to be executed in a computer.

Methods for transferring and receiving data of a mobile terminalaccording to the embodiments of the present invention can be executed bysoftware. When executed by software, constituting means of the presentinvention correspond to code segments carrying out necessary tasks.Programs or code segments can be stored in a processor-readable mediumor transferred by a transfer medium or computer data signals combinedwith carrier waves through a communication network.

A computer-readable storage medium can include all kinds of recordingapparatus to which data that can be read by a computer system arestored. Examples of computer-readable recording apparatus are ROM, RAM,CD-ROM, DVD±ROM, DVD-RAM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, hard disk, andoptical data storage. Also, a computer-readable storage medium can bedistributed across computer apparatus connected to a network andcomputer-readable codes can be stored and executed in a distributedmanner.

The mobile terminal and the methods of transferring or receiving datausing the same according to some embodiments of the present inventionhave the following advantages.

According to the present invention, messages, together with locationinformation, are transmitted or received in various ways. Accordingly,there are advantages in that efficiency in transferring or receivinglocation information can be improved and received location informationcan be used in association with various applications.

Further, according to the present invention, location information can betransmitted or received between terminals using a short-rangecommunication method. Accordingly, there is an advantage in thatlocation information can be used in various ways.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the embodiments of theinvention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.Thus, it is intended that embodiments of the invention cover themodifications and variations of this invention provided they come withinthe scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal comprising: an input unit; acommunication unit; a location information unit configured to obtainlocation information related to the mobile terminal; and a controllerconfigured to: receive a message and a recipient through the input unit,determine a location information transfer mode set for the recipient,receive a message transfer command through the input unit, transfer themessage with the location information to the recipient through thecommunication unit in response to the message transfer command, when thelocation information transfer mode is a first transfer mode, andtransfer the message without the location information to the recipientthrough the communication unit in response to the message transfercommand, when the location information transfer mode set to therecipient is a second transfer mode.
 2. The mobile terminal of claim 1,wherein the location information is a current location of the mobileterminal.
 3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminalfurther comprising: a memory configured to store location informationtransfer modes of a plurality of entities, wherein the controller isconfigured to determine the location information transfer mode set forthe recipient based on the location information transfer modes stored inthe memory, when the recipient of the message is one of the plurality ofentities,
 4. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the locationinformation transfer modes are stored in the memory by at least one of aphonebook application, and address book application, and a contact bookapplication.
 5. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the controlleris configured to determine the location information transfer mode setfor the recipient based on a group of the recipient in the at least oneof the phonebook application, the address book, and the contact bookapplication.
 6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controlleris configured to automatically transfer the location information withthe message to the recipient without obtaining an approval from a user,when the location information transfer mode set for the recipient is thefirst transfer mode.
 7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to transfer the location information with themessage to the recipient after obtaining an approval from a user, whenthe location information transfer mode set for the recipient is thefirst transfer mode.
 8. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to determine the location transfer mode set forthe recipient based on whether or not a phone number indicating therecipient is begins with particular numbers or corresponds to particulararea,
 9. A method controlling mobile terminal including an input unit, acommunication unit, a location information unit, and a controller, themethod comprising: obtaining, by the location information unit, locationinformation related to the mobile terminal; receiving, by thecontroller, a message and a recipient through the input unit;determining, by the controller, a location information transfer mode setfor the recipient; receiving, by the controller, a message transfercommand through the input unit; transferring, by the controller, themessage with the location information to the recipient through thecommunication unit in response to the message transfer command, when thelocation information transfer mode is a first transfer mode; andtransferring, by the controller, the message without the locationinformation to the recipient through the communication unit in responseto the message transfer command, when the location information transfermode set to the recipient is a second transfer mode.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the location information is a current location of themobile terminal.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the mobile terminalfurther comprising: a memory configured to store location informationtransfer modes of a plurality of entities, wherein the controller isconfigured to determine the location information transfer mode set forthe recipient based on the location information transfer modes stored inthe memory, when the recipient of the message is one of the plurality ofentities,
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the location informationtransfer modes are stored in the memory by at least one of a phonebookapplication, and address book application, and a contact bookapplication.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the controller isconfigured to determine the location information transfer mode set forthe recipient based on a group of the recipient in the at least one ofthe phonebook application, the address book, and the contact bookapplication.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the controller isconfigured to automatically transfer the location information with themessage to the recipient without obtaining an approval from a user, whenthe location information transfer mode set for the recipient is thefirst transfer mode.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the controlleris configured to transfer the location information with the message tothe recipient after obtaining an approval from a user, when the locationinformation transfer mode set for the recipient is the first transfermode.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured todetermine the location transfer mode set for the recipient based onwhether or not a phone number indicating the recipient is begins withparticular numbers or corresponds to particular area.